Contested Waters: Rio de Janeiro’s Public Water Supply and the Social Structuring of a City

The spatially-oriented analysis of the water distribution in 19th combines data on the position of aqueducts, fountains, private taps, the conduit system and the amount of water provided by each of these with the data of the “Terrain of History” (http://www.stanford.edu/group/spatialhistory/cgi-bin/site/project.php?id=999) project. It will explore through dynamic visualizations the relationship between property, occupations, diseases, demography, and the accessibility of water. The objective is to understand the socio-geographic development of a city characterized by major geological challenges from the perspective of its water supply.

The Spatial History Project at Stanford University, a part of the Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis, is made possible by the generous funding of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE), DoResearch, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and The Wallenberg Foundation Media Places Initiative.